IAAF bans 28 athletes in doping cases

LONDON: The IAAF has initiated disciplinary action against 28 athletes after they retested samples from the 2005 and 2007 world championships with new technology that can uncover previously undetectable substances and found 32 adverse doping cases.

Eastern Europeans, including Russians, make up a large number of the 28, sources familiar with the testing told.

They were not aware of any Americans on the list and the BBC reported there were no British athletes.

The world athletics governing body said it could not yet name the 28 or even their nationalities, "due to the legal process".

"A large majority of the 28 are retired, some are athletes who have already been sanctioned, and only very few remain active in sport," the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said.

Two other athletes, an Indian discus thrower and Ukrainian hammer thrower, tested positive during the championships.

Officials at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) would not comment on the cases, saying they would await the conclusion of the testing process.

If violations are confirmed, the IAAF said it would correct the record books for the 2005 and 2007 world championships, which were held in Osaka, and re-allocate medals as necessary.

"The latest scientific breakthroughs in anti-doping technology and analysis have been employed in the re-analysis of these samples to allow us to find previously undetectable substances," Martial Saugy, director of the Swiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses in Lausanne, said in a statement.